I don't get a parenthetical next to my name? I'm livid.
It never ceases to amaze me that HaloTracks is more than a few lines of code to people. I view this website and this community as a project. A project that I care deeply about and want to succeed when the time is right. It's only when reading through sentiments like this, that I appreciate what HaloTracks means to people.
I'm happy that we've been good enough for you, bud. We all enjoy having you around and it's hard to imagine an HT without its best meme: Cameron
Looking forward to continuing our adventures together, and thank you.
..also, fuck you.

Oh, we ded af
Pleasant tidings in 2018, HaloTracks. The lights are flickering, the air is heavy with dust, there's a dead cockroach in the corner, and mice ate through the plastic covering our furniture. Some might say we're a little worse for wear. Some might say Halo is in a bad shape, but I think we're just getting started... loljk, we ded af
Nevertheless, let's get into a super quick update.
WHERE WE ARE
I'm not going to go in depth on this topic. HaloTracks is currently in its worst spit of activity since the launch of TriggerSmash. Our daily active user count is averaging closer to zero than it is to one.
WHAT WE'RE DOING ABOUT IT
I want to be as honest as possible with you guys. We have no plans to continue updating the current version of the website. Hatter and I are aware that many issues present on the website prohibit a smooth HaloTracks experience. With the site's current lack of activity and Halo, itself, being in a dark place at the moment, we must simply focus our efforts on projects which help our lives and careers.
BUT THERE IS A FUTURE
That, however, isn't to say that we've abandoned HaloTracks and our community to its fate. We're a group of Halo players who strive to push through our tribulation, and we've gotten pretty damn good at it. The damage to HaloTracks cannot be ignored, but we can look toward a possible future with Halo Infinite and something most precious which we haven't talked about in depth.
Our prrrrrrrecious is HaloTracks version 6.0 and, yes, I can feel your eyes rolling but bear with me here.
We have some ambitious goals for 5.0's successor. Allow me to illustrate our primary goals for this project:
Ditch Invision Power Board (IPB) for good:
The application should be housed within an environment constructed by HaloTracks. Both Invision Power Board's visual and performance issues severely impact our ability to deliver a smooth experience. Moving forward, our community can no longer sit within a third party application or content management system.
Deliver a smooth, fast experience within a single-page application:
The application should be capable of performing complex tasks without a noticeable drop in performance. To help achieve this, we are developing 6.0 as a single-page application. Essentially, users only load one page upon visiting the website. There are no other pages to the website. Instead, the application will update and re-render application and component states upon user requests or the receipt of relevant data from the database.
Think of 6.0 as a living, breathing application that is always performing tasks to ensure that data on the website is synchronized across all user views.
Deliver competent user interface/user experience (UI/UX):
The application should house a powerful set of features, as well as a streamlined interface which is easy to understand and properly responds to user input and requests. When application and/or component states change and a new render occurs, the change in state should be obvious to the user and not inhibit either the application's performance or interactivity.
Provide the HaloTracks community with a framework to continue innovation and encourage competition between Halo communities:
The application should provide an innovative take toward how a Halo community can be built and represented. The development and design mindset would, ideally, stretch into other areas of the Halo community and encourage them to be pursuant in the design and development methodology behind our community. The purpose of this is not to sound purposefully arrogant, but rather to foster healthy competition which is vital for the growth and sustainability of the Halo community as a whole.
HaloTracks 6.0 should rest upon a healthy framework which enables us to rapidly develop, test, and release new features when required.
DEVELOPMENT STATUS
As cool, great, and awesome 6.0 sounds, the application is still considerably early in its development. Hatter and I are working at a snail's pace as we focus our efforts toward projects that immediately assist in our career paths.
With that said, once 343 releases more information regarding Halo Infinite's launch schedule, development pace may increase in order to sync Halo "6" and 6.0's release.
We, however, can not deliver any promises about any aspect of 6.0. This goes from its feature list to a launch date. Essentially, don't get hyped. There's no reason for hype.
SHUT UP AND SHOW US WHAT YA GOT
Slow down, cowboy. Even though HaloTracks is dead in the water at the moment, Hatter and I still have tremendous confidence about the capabilities of 6.0. It would be damn unfortunate for 6.0's design and features to be implemented anywhere else on the web before its release.
Still, this update remains a long way from release. The purpose of this post is to keep you guys informed and to know that we haven't abandoned you. Such as it is, Spartans never die.
In the meantime, play some Halo 3 on MCC, don't worry, be happy, and we'll meet again.

Regarding the second suggestion, this is already possible but people aren't using the tournament system correctly. You can set up tournaments as a team tournament, and we have colors set up already to choose from.
The first question is being addressed in 6.0, but Aaron and I haven't really discussed putting that into 5.0. @Mad Hatter

While Cameron's reply doesn't officially represent the thoughts and opinions of the HaloTracks administration ( ) , I can say that we haven't really had an 'odd' Halo game that was on the scope of I01 or P:C. If they're successful games with a strong, creative community, my position would in the realm of, "anything's possible."

@Kenjamin1 MI The rules don't specify that you can only submit one map, but I'd play it safe. They may not intend to allow for multiple submissions, and could reject maps accordingly. I'm not privy to their decision making, so this is just conjecture. Not an official statement from ForgeHub's contest runners.

Banner by ForgeHub
This article includes content and information from ForgeHub's original article. HaloTracks is not the author, nor contributed to the authoring of that announcement.
In a family reunion, of sorts, HaloTracks has partnered with ForgeHub to bring their first map contest of 2018 to fruition. This contest pits your ability to make a track that is both visually stunning and delivers a fun experience with a a high replay value. Details are as follows (as is from ForgeHub).
What is it?
The ForgeHub Grand Prix Aesthetic Race Contest (or ForgeHub Grand Prix for short) is the first of many contests the pit crew at ForgeHub will head in 2018. It's also the first since the Extermination contest of 2017 to be birthed, raised and nurtured by your tender loving staff themselves. In this test of speed and momentum, submissions will be judged equally on their aesthetics and tracks, meaning that a perfect marriage of both will see you crossing that finish line ahead of the competition. In the rest of this article, I will be detailing the specifics on how to ensure your racetrack is in our top gear.
When is it?
A schedule is being finalized right now for all you rookie racers looking to get your tires moving. Below is an up-to-date version of the schedule.
Official Contest Submission Date Begins 12:00 AM EST - Friday, January 19th, 2018
Contest Submission Closes 11:59 P.M EST - Monday, February 19th, 2018
Judging begins the final week of February.
Who is Involved?
Unlike our previously hosted contest, The ForgeHub Grand Prix is being hosted by a panel of four ForgeHub Staffers and one very special guest, who feels right at home here with us. Without further ado, our judging panel is...
-BaconMedia-
-Ducain23-
-Shooty Person-
-Sir Iron Wolf-
And Special Guest, the Owner of HaloTracks.org -Le Hefe-
Below you can find the rubric for how maps will be judged, which has been constructed from the ground up to prevent subjectivity in the judging process.
How Will my Map be Judged?
There will be FIVE total categories in which you may score points for your map. Each category is worth an equal 20 points, and the five categories are all based around the principle features your map will have: A Racetrack and Aesthetics.
- Theme -
How well does your map capture the intended theme? Are there sounds? Is there fitting lighting? A custom skybox? All of these are suggestions to improve your score in this category.
Your theme may be an original concept OR it may also be a remake or re-imagination of an existing theme seen in Halo or other media. You will NOT be scored less for using an unoriginal theme, but you may be judged more critically if you do not capture said theme in a familiar way.
- Construction/Piece Usage -
Does your map maintain it's quality of appearance throughout? Or are some sections lacking in order to boost the look of others? If so, is this an appropriate trade-off?
Are pieces obvious? Do you disguise your pieces well enough to merge them seamlessly into your crafted environment?
Are there floating pieces/holes in your environment? Noticeable construction errors?
- Integration With Track -
Does your environment effect your playspace (racetrack)? Maps that incorporate their tracks into the environment will score significantly higher than maps that create a simple floating track.
If your track isn't fully integrated, does it at least match the overall theme?
- Functionality -
Does your racetrack run smoothly? Are there any unintentional bumps or odd angles?
Is your racetrack too difficult to be casually enjoyed? The objective is not to create a strong challenge, but instead to provide a setting where players can enjoy themselves.
Please note that Framerate will NOT effect your score in any way short of causing a catastrophic error in the map's playability. (Causing a jump to become unreadable, causing racers to repeatedly die in a specific area, etc.)
- Track Design/Layout -
Is your racetrack exciting without being too difficult? Does it create a fun atmosphere catering to both casual and veteran players?
Are there any unique or exciting gimmicks? Scripted events?
Overall, this category exists to ask the question "Is this race fun?"
To recap, each judge will rate each category on a scale of 1-20 (1 being an overall failure to include any elements of the category, a 20 being an exceptional and groundbreaking measure). At the end, each judge will tally their score to give the maps and overall 1-100 rating. The judges will compare their 1-100 overall score and a formula will be preformed to find the true average (or mean) for each map. This will be the map's final score. The three maps with the highest total scores at the end of the competition will place 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Which brings the next question. What do you get?
What do I get When I Win?
The true winners in this competition are the judges, as they get to have fun playing through a plethora of exciting community maps. But as far as contestants go, there will be THREE winners in this contest.
3rd place Prize -$100 USD-
2nd place Prize -$150 USD-
1st place Prize -$250 USD-
What Else Should I Know?
Here are some key bullet points and guidelines for this contest, think of this section as a FAQ, and the more questions you ask down below, the more we will update this section.
Your objective is to design a LOOPED race. This means a map with several laps around a circuit, NOT a point-to-point race similar to the ending of Halo: Combat Evolved. This is a choice made to provide a smaller, repeating track so you may increase your visuals and focus on aesthetics more freely.
You may use your vehicle of choice from the following: Warthog (any), Mongoose, Banshee, Wasp, Ghost.
Your map MUST be able to support up to AT LEAST 5 racers in whichever vehicle you choose.
Prefabs with the scripts and tutorials on how to set up the Race Gametype will be provided closer to the submission date opens.
Using another forger's aesthetic published prefabs is PROHIBITED. This is a contest based heavily around visuals and any map that is caught using another forger's prefab will be requested to make the change or be immediately eliminated.
Your map MUST be started AFTER this announcement. Yes, THIS announcement! Meaning you don't have to wait until the submission date to start throwing together ideas, you may begin right this very moment, but you'll have to hold off until 12:00 A.M EST on Friday, January 19th to submit.
As always, lets keep it civil and classy. Anything that violates our Code of Conduct will be removed, and the author may be placed on a blacklist prohibiting them from entering our contests.